This past week I finally finished up and launched a redesign for the Aces Tattoos website. As part of the redesign I reworked the logo (see old logo here), rewrote the entire site, new design, new... well everything's just new.. that sums it up. The site was done using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, a bit of PHP and even some jQuery. This was my first non-flash site in a looong time and even though it wasn't a terrible process, playing browser-roulette definitely made me remember why I love the Flash world so much. In the end though the goals of the project were satisfied I think (a site to showcase the work of the artists, could be maintained by the client using no code [Adobe Contribute] and a design the client was happy with). It did feel good to do another freelance project after a pretty long layoff. And while I don't plan to get back into freelancing a ton, I do see/have a few projects on the horizon and look forward to the creative freedom you just dont get from the 9-5.

If you get a second, stop by Aces Tattoos and check out the artist portfolios, tell them how awesome their site is or get some ink of your own from one of their amazing artists.

Setting up your work environment, whether it be your Photoshop workspace or your favorite coding applications panels, can be a very individual thing. Some people like it this way some like it that way, etc.. So I wont be spending any time here talking about visual layout but rather setting up FlexBuilder ( recently renamed FlashBuilder) to provide optimum compiler performance, connecting to the Flash CS4 code-base, a few of my favorite plug-ins, etc.. Hopefully this will help save someone else the headaches I have gone through trying to get everything just right so I can just work.

1. Setting up FlexBuilder 3 to work with Flash CS4

First lets set-up FlexBuilder to import the Flash CS4 libraries. You'll need to modify the paths to follow your specific paths (e.g. change the username)
- Click Images to see full size -

FIRST:
Window -> Preferences -> General -> Workspace -> Linked Resources
Path is : C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS4\Common\Configuration\ActionScript 3.0\projects\Flash\src\

SECOND:
Project -> Properties -> ActionScript Build Path -> Source Path Tab

THIRD:
Project -> Properties -> ActionScript Build Path -> Library Path Tab

2. Speeding up FlexBuilder Compile Times

1. Add additional Compiler arguments to your project: Project->Properties->Flex Compiler->Additional Compiler Arguments incremental=true -keep=true. That only updates and compile files and with changes and does not compile all the stuff again. Great results on medium/big projects. For the first time it takes more time to compile (due to cache file generation), but the next compiles are really fast.-keep=true or -keep-generated-actionscript=true can be other good tip, but only for check generated action script files (created under "generated" folder, good for debugging and code-check) but this does not tune up the compiling time.
2. Close extra projects
3. Turn off "Copy non-embedded files to source folder"
4. Turn off "Build Automatically"

3. Lets not forget about Plug-ins

There are quite a bit of Eclipse plug-ins in existence. Not all will help you with ActionScript coding but there are quite a few that will. I use the Snippets panel found in the CFEclipse plug-in, the ToDo panel, and the Status Memory Monitor Plugin.

1. Check out the 3 part series by Lee Brimelow on adding enhancements to FB 3 (especially the Snippets Panel).  Part 1, 2, 3
2. Here's another great post - Pimp my ‘clipse - a list of must-have Eclipse plug-ins for Flex/Flash Development
3. The the Status Memory Monitor Plugin is really cool. It allows you to for Eclipse/FB to run its garbage Collection, freeing up memory and resources. Great Productivity enhancement.

Anyway those are just a few ways you can set up FlexBuilder to allow you to be more productive. Please post your own tips if you have any.

-Dave

I thought Id take a few and talk about what inspiration means to me, and where I find myself being most inspired. I've been meaning to write this post for a long time, but like most, I have just been so busy that the blog has really suffered. Having some time off over the holidays though is a good time to get caught up on a few things.

I really believe that Inspiration is Zen. What I mean by that is you have to be willing - the level of inspiration something gives depends on your state of mind at the moment. The timing must be right - whats inspiring today, may not be tomorrow and vise versa. It cant always be explained. Inspiration to me is one of those odd things that isn't always easy to put into words. What's inspiring is different for everyone. However I do believe that many people really confuse appreciation with inspiration. Just because you find something cool, does not make it inspiring. In order for something to be inspiring, it should be also motivating. Without motivation its just appreciation not inspiration. Now I dont mean motivating in the "motivational speaker" sense, but it should make you want to do something. Seeing something that makes you go "WOW!" is one thing, seeing something that makes you go "WOW! I wanna do THAT!!!"... is what I think defines inspiration.

I think there are two types or way to get inspired. "Active Inspiration" - where you need to get an idea for a specific project and you actively go looking for a spark or idea to put you on your path. The other type/way is "Passive Inspiration" - where you accidentally get inspired and motivated to want to do something. That's not to say the two ways are mutually exclusive. In fact often times I will actively be looking for that spark, when I stumble across something that sparks a new idea for a different project.

I try and surround myself with opportunities to be inspired at all times. I realize that statement sounds a tad confusing so I'll explain what I mean. While I may not always be "actively" looking for inspiration, I do actively position myself to be passively inspired. Whether its wallpapering my office with imagery that is visually stimulating, setting my Netvibes page to push feeds from places I am routinely inspired by, covering my body in artwork (tattoos), or even just something as simple as having an old car and custom motorcycle in the garage. I find myself inspired by all of that content all the time. The craftsmanship of the car/bike, the lighting/colors/composition of the painting on my wall, the links to artwork Netvibes is feeding me, the ink in my skin that creates such amazing imagery... they are all things that motivate me in different ways to want to be a better artist.

One thing I didnt mention, is that I don't really view websites as inspiration for me anymore. While I am truly in awe of the work many studios like AgencyNet, Big Spaceship, 2Advanced, NorthKindom, etc... put out, I dont guess I find them inspiring anymore because I am too caught up in the technical complexities of the projects too find them truly inspiring. I dont mean that to be a slight on any website or web project, its just that I am too close to that industry to look at any of it objectively anymore. In fact I find myself getting so caught up in the "how'd they do that?" question that often times it can be demotivating, no matter how cool I think it is.

So what do I find truly inspiring? I really find myself drawn to more traditional artwork. Granted my definition of "traditional" may be different that some if not most. To me tattoo art is amazing and truly inspiring. The fact that a true tattoo artist can display their art on a canvas that for all intents and purposes gives you one shot to get it right is something I find very inspiring. I dont want to be a tattoo artist by any means, but what inspires me is that if an amazing artist like Horyoshi III can manage to put such beautiful artwork on skin using a stick... inspires me to be a better artist with all of the tools I have at my disposal.

I'd love to hear what anyone else does for inspiration or any feedback you have on my take on the subject. I'll leave you with links to a few links I get inspired by...

Design Flavr - Inspiration Blog / Community
Typography and Lettering - Flickr Group
RatRods - Flickr Group
Generator.x - Flickr Group
Shawn Barber - Badass painter/Tattoo Artist
Worth1000 - Photoshop Greatness
Sketch Theatre - Video's / Speed Painting
Mr. Cartoon - Amazing Artist
Queenpin Deluxe - Awesome Pinup artist
... I could go on forever but this is a small taste of the current crop of greatness... until it all changes tomorrow

I finally got my upgrade info for FlexBuilder 3 and got it installed yesterday. I then proceeded to import my project from FlexBuilder 2 and everything went really smooth. I got all of my linked resources set up and began coding. After the CS3 install debacle I was thinking "wow that went really smooth". And the install went great. However as I try and get back into my project and writing code I have noticed a few weird issues that i can seem to figure out how to fix.

The first annoying bug is that I cant ctrl+click on a class name and navigate to that class unless I force FlexBuilder to import a class via code completion first. Once I do that then the class names become clickable by holding down the ctrl key. However even when i do that, once I click on the class name I get an error notifying me that "The file you chose is not inside a project...".

But it is, its part of the linked resource classes that I have as part of the project. Ahh this is irritating.

Then the last annoyance (so far) is now when I have code problems, FlexBuilder's problems panel will show the error and the line its on, but under the Resource column it just shows the project name and the Path column is completely blank... yeah that's helpful

I'm considering downgrading back to FB 2.01 at least until this project is done. If anyone knows how to fix it let me know, It would be much appreciated!

In AS2 I used a custom Broadcaster class that allowed you to fire an event and pass along an object to the listeners. As I transition and get comfortable with AS3 and the improved event model I have come across a question I cant seem to find a clear answer for.

I have been trying to decide what is better/proper practice when it comes to Events in AS3. Is it better to extend and create custom event classes that contain gettable/settable properties to be passed along with the event? Versus, dispatching a more generic event and have the listener reference back to the object that fired the event to obtain a property value? Is the pain of creating multiple Event classes going to benefit me in performance? Is there a hit to the performance for a listener to receive an event, and reference back to a target to get the property values it needs?

Any feedback on this subject would be greatly appreciated

This wont be a long post, mainly because I don't have much to say other than BUY THIS BOOK!! This is the FIRST O'Reilly book I have ever been able to read cover-to-cover. O'Reilly books traditionally have seems very dry, albeit the perfect technical resources, just not a "reader". This book changes that (for me anyway).

Anyone who has coded anything in AS 1 or 2 doesn't need me to tell them that Colin Moock is a bad ass and any book he writes is a must have for any Flash developer. The only thing missing from this book is a reference like the ActionScript Definitive Guide had. I know Adobe has LiveDocs (although I really wish they'd post the HTML source for them so I can host it locally like Macromedia used to do), and thats great an all, but I really like having a written reference to go to.

Other than that, I just had to get a quick post to say thanks again to Colin for a kick ass book.... and to say it again, BUY THIS BOOK!!

(fyi.. all links to the books in this post will give credit to Colin via Amazon... he deserves it!)

I'm a bit late on this post, but better late than never huh? This will be short anyway though. I just wanted to say thanks to Mike Chambers, Lee Brimelow, Ryan Stewart, Daniel Dura and the rest of the onAir Bus Tour team for taking the time to stop off in Dallas. It was a truly inspiring event, and unbelievable that it was free. I left there really wanting to build something (just haven't decided on what yet). If the tour comes anywhere remotely close to where you live it is absolutely worth the time and even worth a drive.

Check out the onAir site for scheduled stops, tour photos and videos, blogs, and even an AIR Bus API. Then Register to attend the event near you, you wont be disappointed. They have great shwag bags too

First let me start off by thanking Mike Potter (Program Manager, Developer Relations at Adobe) for sending me this book. According to Mike,

"Every once in a while I’ll go through Amazon and find wishlists with Flex or ActionScript books on them."

So if you dont have a wishlist set up at Amazon, you should do so now, you never know who may be willing to make your day. Thanks again Mike! Now on to the book...

The Essential Guide to Flex 2 with ActionScript 3.0 was a good book. There I've said it, I liked the book. As with all Friends Of Ed Books (or at least the ones I have in my library) this book is extremely easy to read cover to cover. I dont know what it is about the books this company puts out, but they are by far the easy programming/technical books to read that I have ever purchased. I am constantly recommending the Foundation series books to people new to Actionscript, and/or Flash because of how easy they are to read.

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For the past, oh 7 years or so, I have been working on redesign my site. Ever since I completed it for the first time, a redesign of it has been on my mind (I'm never happy with my own work). When I finally set out to do it this time, I decided that I'd take the pressure off myself a bit and not have any delusions about an FWA, or feel the need to try and blow everyone away with my design and technical prowess (as if). I wanted something that would be simple and clean with no caffeine. Something that would be easier to maintain and easier to redesign next time (hopefully that wont take another 7 years). What I ended up building accomplishes that I think.

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I've gotten a few emails from people asking about getting the Escape Shortcuts to work in CS3, and specifically if they still work in AS3. The answer is absolutely, although they are not enabled by default from what I can tell. Enabling them though is rather easy.

Inside Flash CS3 IDE, open the panel menu (at the upper-right corner of the Actions panel) and make sure "Esc Shortcut Keys" is enabled (e.g. has a check mark next to it.

Also, remember its not a typical keyboard shortcut, where you hold down esc+f+n at the same time, but rather hit those buttons in a sequence. For example, press the esc key, then the f key then the n key and the shortcut will work, you will end up with

function () {

} 

Enjoy!